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In 2782 the AFFS recruited enough SLDF personnel from the Thirteenth Royal French Demi-Brigade,[1] a part of LVI Corps[2][3] within the Nineteenth Army,[1][2][3] The Thirteenth Royal French Demi-Brigade was one of a number of commands that could trace its heritage back to the French Foreign Legion on Terra; the Foreign Legion's First Foreign Regiment had been split into smaller and smaller administrative units as waves of colonists left Terra, with those small units assigned to posts further and further afield. The Thirteenth had been stationed in the Le Blanc system when the Star League was founded, and it and all of the other sub-units for the First Foreign Regiment were recalled to Terra at this point and reorganised into the new French Royal Regiments within the SLDF.[2]

The Star League had recognised the need in its early years for quick-response units that could deploy rapidly to any world, tasks that the SLDF Independent regiments and Marine regiments were ill-equipped and trained to perform, and as a result the SLDF quickly developed a new formation to tackle these tasks. These new units became known as Rapid Deployment Mixed Armed Forces regiments, or RDMAF units, and were considered to be a part of the Special Operations command of the SLDF, placing them outside of the standard Regular Army organization. These RDMAF units were assigned to every combat region, and quickly became an open secret within the Inner Sphere; recruited from the world of Deneb Kaitos, the RDMAFs became known as the Deneb Light Cavalry. When GeneralAleksandr Kerensky launched Operation EXODUS and led the bulk of the surviving SLDF out of the Inner Sphere in the wake of the Amaris Civil War, only one surviving RDMAF chose to remain in the Inner Sphere - the Fourth Deneb Light Cavalry.[4] Commanded by GeneralEveline McDennis, the Fourth was determined to protect its homeworld from the ravages of war that were certain to come as the Star League collapsed, but with trade subject to massive disruption and the population beginning to starve, General McDennis looked outside her homeworld for help. Pledging that they would support whichever House could guarantee that the people of Deneb Kaitos would have enough food to survive until they could become self-sufficient, McDennis found only one House willing to meet her terms - and the Fourth Deneb Light Cavalry joined the Armed Forces of the Federated Suns accordingly.[5] In total, the AFFS recruited enough personnel from the Thirteenth Royal French Demi-Brigade in 2782 - including the Fourth Deneb Light Cavalry - to form three regiments, the Fourth, Fifth and Eighth Deneb Light Cavalry.[1] By 2786 the brigade had expanded to five regiments, with the addition of the Third and Ninth Deneb Light Cavalry.[6]

During the Jihad the Deneb Light Cavalry's homeworld, Deneb Kaitos, was invaded by the Word of Blake. This invasion destroyed the Fourth DLC. Later the Eighth DLC attacked Deneb Kaitos to retake it, but they sustained heavy losses when their JumpShips were ambushed. The Twelfth attacked the Draconis Combine, losing nearly all their troops. The survivors were reassigned to the Eighth DLC to make up losses in that regiment.[7]

Marshal Andrew Terlecki Jr. lead this brigade after the retirement of his father. He was the commander of the disbanded 5th Deneb Light Cavalry and try to navigate through the political chaos around his formations.